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Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens before their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden
On Wednesday, the Celtics shipped off Jaylen Brown to the 76ers in a trade that seemed to benefit Philadelphia much more than Boston. Brad Stevens deleted his Instagram account shortly after that transaction was announced, and some fans opted to voice their displeasure by targeting the ones belonging to his son and daughter.
Jaylen Brown has spent the entirety of his 10-year NBA career as a member of the Celtics, but all signs pointed to that no longer being the case after the most recent campaign wrapped up.
The guard finished with a career-high 28.7 points per game, but his squad was treated to a first-round exit in the playoffs. GM Brad Stevens and the rest of the front office apparently felt it was time to retool, and they seemingly decided to build a team around Jayson Tatum as opposed to the man who stepped up after he was limited to just 16 games due to the Achilles injury he suffered last season.
It looked like the Celtics were the frontrunners to land Giannis Antetokounmpo in a swap where Brown was the shiniest asset they could offer, but they were ultimately outfoxed by the Heat. All signs indicated they were still intent on moving him somewhere, and on Wednesday, they did exactly that when he was traded to the 76ers in exchange for Paul George and two first and second-round picks.
Only time will tell how things play out, but the initial consensus was that the Celtics got absolutely fleeced. Fans who wanted to voice their displeasure on Stevens’ Instagram account were unable to do so after he deactivated it, and some particularly unhinged ones decided to go after his kids instead.
Some Celtics fans decided to go after Brad Stevens’ son and daughter because they were mad about the Jaylen Brown trade
Trash talk is a core aspect of NBA games, but most players know there are certain lines you’re not supposed to cross, which includes bringing family members into the mix.
However, there were more than a few terminally online Celtics fans who went that route in the wake of the Brown trade. After discovering they were unable to air their grievances on his Instagram account, they decided to turn their attention to his kids: Brady, a guard on the men’s basketball team at Notre Dame, and Kinsley, who attends high school in Massachusetts.
I am not going to link to either of their Instagram profiles to spare them further harassment, but here is a selection of comments that popped up on a couple of their recent posts following the Brown trade (which is just a tiny taste of similar sentiments).
It should go without saying that this is something you should not do, but I guess that is something that actually needs to be said.